


The Benefits of Direct Communication

by QueenKatelynTheAristocrat



Category: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - Thorne & Rowling
Genre: Awkward Conversations, Coming Out, Established Relationship, Fluff, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Compliant, M/M, Post-Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Potter family drama
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-03
Updated: 2018-12-03
Packaged: 2019-09-06 03:28:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,337
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16824196
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/QueenKatelynTheAristocrat/pseuds/QueenKatelynTheAristocrat
Summary: “I didn’t say anything!” Scorpius rushed to clarify, “You were the one who gave us away by making flirty eyes at me across the room in a public place.”In which Albus pretends to like Quidditch, Scorpius gives Harry some parenting advice, and a certain secret becomes not-so-secret anymore.





	The Benefits of Direct Communication

Scorpius had to admit that the situation was a bit surreal: just last year, the great and very heroic Harry Potter had genuinely believed that Scorpius was the literal incarnation of evil -- enough to open an investigation in the Auror department as to his heritage -- and now here they were, the week before Scorpius’s 5th year at Hogwarts, awkwardly standing next to each other in a Quidditch shop as Scorpius’s best friend Albus Potter feigned complete fascination with the broom he was examining. 

You see, ever since the incident with the time turner, Albus and his father had been on slightly better terms, and as a result, Mr. Potter had decided to make what he called an “Effort” with Scorpius, which Scorpius appreciated, he really did, it was just… recently Albus had been doing things -- Gryffindor-like things -- to capture his father’s attention that he wouldn’t normally do. Things like pretending to like Quidditch. If he was being honest, it had Scorpius more than a little stressed out. 

Because, the thing about Albus was that he was  _ not  _ a Gryffindor. Not to say that Albus wasn’t brave, because Scorpius knew that his Albus could be  _ very  _ brave when the situation truly required it. But Albus Potter was not a very spontaneous creature: he didn’t really jump into things without thinking. So when he tried to, he ended up backing out half-way through, and then  _ Scorpius  _ had to fix whatever mess his best friend had created using a combination of his Malfoy charm, his innate cleverness, and his spectacular bully-escaping skills. 

Sometimes that third point was quite literal, as became apparent a week before end of term when Albus decided to spontaneously challenge Polly Chapman to a duel -- somehow forgetting that he was terrible at duelling -- in defense of Scorpius’s honor -- which he did find a bit endearing, he couldn’t exactly help it -- and then found himself the target of at least 20 hostile wands. Scorpius had immediately decided the only real way out of  _ that  _ one was a technique which he called “Run Away Quickly.” 

Albus had been dropping hints all day that he planned to try out for Quidditch next year -- an idea which Scorpius was vehemently opposed to, not least for the reason that he didn’t want Albus to fall to his  _ death  _ \-- and was now examining yet another broom, sending hopeful glances over to them every few moments as if checking to see if his dad was glowing with pride yet, even though he quite clearly had absolutely no idea what he was looking at. Scorpius found the entire thing a bit sad, really. Something absolutely, most  _ certainly  _ needed to be done about this. 

Except, Scorpius wasn’t exactly sure _how_ to turn his friend back into his usual self. He never acted like this when alone with Scorpius, and when they’d gone to the robe shop with Scorpius’s father last weekend -- which Mr. Potter was certainly trying to one-up with this latest excursion, too bad he didn’t realize that neither of the two boys he was trying to impress were at all impressed by broomsticks, no matter how hard Albus was trying -- Albus had been completely calm, composed, and most of all, _Albus-like. This_ nonsense was not at all Albus-like, and that was what really had Scorpius worried.   
Of course, Scorpius knew why his friend was trying to earn his dad’s approval: the two of them had something important to tell him, something that Albus thought his dad wasn’t going to like very much, although Scorpius wasn’t as worried. They’d already told Scorpius’s father last weekend, and that had gone well -- like, super, _extremely_ well -- and Draco was -- dare he say it -- a bit more intimidating than Harry Potter. Although, as it appeared, Albus didn’t didn’t seem to think so. 

And so, Scorpius knew deep down that the only thing for it was to talk to Albus’s dad himself. As they were standing side by side alone at that very moment, Scorpius decided that it was now or never. He cleared his throat, and when Harry turned to look at him, Scorpius said, “Mr. Harry Potter, I think we need to have a conversation.” 

Harry raised an eyebrow at him, which Scorpius found a  _ bit  _ condescending but decided to ignore in order to expedite the process, and replied, “Do we now? About what?” 

“Albus.” was all Scorpius said in reply.

Harry chuckled a bit and said, “What could we possibly need to talk about regarding my son?” 

Scorpius just sighed and looked back at his best friend, who hadn’t changed his position one bit, and said, “Sir,  _ your son _ \-- as you say -- is currently making a fool out of himself over by that racing broom, and as his best friend, I find myself obliged to inform you as to why.” 

Harry looked defensive as he said, “I think it’s great that Albus is taking an interest in Quidditch.” 

Scorpius almost shook his head at this new ignorance displayed by the great Harry Potter. “Albus is not the least bit interested in Quidditch, trust me on this one. He probably doesn’t even know what brand that broom is he’s looking at.” 

“I’m sure he knows what brand it is, Scorpius.” Harry responded immediately. 

Scorpius smiled and said, “Wanna bet? Albus!” 

Albus looked over, raised an eyebrow, and said, “Yeah, Scorp?” 

“What brand is that broom you’re looking at there?” he asked, with a wink. He’d let Albus think he was trying to convince his dad that they  _ were _ , in fact, interested in Quidditch for a bit longer if it helped to prove his point. 

Albus -- as expected -- froze at this sudden inquisition and tried to look at the display placard without making it  _ look  _ like he was looking at the display placard, and answered a moment too late, “It’s the latest Firebolt, of course!” 

As Albus went back to looking at the brooms, Harry Potter looked a bit annoyed that Draco Malfoy’s 15 year old son had just been given the opportunity to look at him in a manner very reminiscent of Draco’s when he’d won an argument back in their school days. 

But Harry Potter was an adult -- more or less -- and it seemed that he at least knew when to accept that he needed someone’s help. Or at least it appeared that way to Scorpius because then Harry said, “Fine, Scorpius. What do you think I need to know about my son?” 

The man still sounded a bit skeptical, but Scorpius would take it. He’d just been given express permission to tell Harry exactly how to improve his parenting skills, and if he was being honest, Scorpius had been wanting to do that all Summer. “To begin with, Albus is not interested in Quidditch. He is -- and I say this with deep affection -- absolutely terrible at Quidditch.” 

“Then why is he pretending to like Quidditch?” Harry asked, and bless him, he already looked so confused. 

“Because he thinks that liking Quidditch and doing stupid things and acting Gryffindor-like in general is going to  _ impress  _ you. He thinks it’s going to make you less disappointed in him.” Scorpius explained. 

Harry just looked confused, so Scorpius continued, “Not  _ consciously  _ or anything, at least I don’t think so, he’s just... “ Scorpius thought for a moment, “Since the two of you made up after our whole excursion through time last year, he thinks that doing other things like that are going to fix your relationship even more. Like, the fact that you seemed just the tiniest bit impressed that he’d managed to pull off such a stunt last year just confirmed his belief that what you’re  _ really  _ disappointed in is the fact that he’s a Slytherin. But I don’t think that’s true, Mr. Potter. You’re a better person than that. Or at least I hope you are, because if you’re not then next time the two of us just might have to accept my father’s invitation to brunch at the Manor instead.” 

Harry spluttered for a moment, then seemed to regain the power of speech and said, “How could you… how could he even think that? After everything that’s happened?” 

Scorpius just shrugged. If he was being completely honest, he could easily see how Albus had gotten the idea into his head, but he figured saying that wouldn’t earn him any brownie points. Instead he said, “I think you can maybe answer that one on your own if you think about it. But I’m glad that you react so negatively to the accusation. Albus and I are Slytherins. It's who we are, and my mother used to say that you should never try to change someone you love because it won't work, you'll just end up pushing them away.” 

Harry just watched Albus for a minute, eyebrows scrunched together, as if trying to see through his mask to what Scorpius claimed was underneath. After a minute, he said, “Your mother was a wise woman, Scorpius.”

Scorpius smiled brilliantly at that; it had been a few years now since his mother's passing, and the thought of her comforted him more than saddened him now. Besides, it wasn't often that someone spoke well of his mother. Usually people used her as a weapon to harm him. “Yes, she was. She was amazing.” 

Harry turned to look at him, really look at him, this strange and clever kid whom his son had become so attached to. For the first time, he thought he might just see what Albus saw. He decided the Hell with it. “Well then, what do you think I should do?” 

Scorpius was taken off guard by the directness of this question. “Oh, wow, ok, time to give actual advice now, I guess…” Scorpius trailed off, because Harry was giving him that slightly scared look that people who weren't Albus did whenever he started rambling like that. 

“You didn't start this conversation looking to give advice?” Now Harry sounded like an amused parental figure. That was not what Scorpius wanted. 

“No, I did.” Scorpius looked at the ground, “But I wasn't expecting you to ask so abruptly. You Potters do that often, don't you? I swear, sometimes I think Albus  _ enjoys _ making me ramble like an idiot.” 

Harry was wearing a too-much-information face, but Scorpius couldn't imagine why. “Speaking of Albus?” 

“Oh, yes. Honestly, Mr. Potter, you just need to  _ talk  _ to him.” Scorpius advised. 

Harry’s face immediately turned sour. “That's what everyone tells me. I keep trying, but it seems like it's just getting worse.” 

Scorpius gave him a knowing look. “I too have faced this problem. Albus is a hard person to talk to, he really is, he's got this lack of emotional skills that we're working on, I promise. The thing is, he doesn’t really understand subtlety. If there’s something you really want to get through to him about, you need to tell him that thing as clearly as possible, leaving no doubts about your sincerity. And that sincerity is important. Albus hates hypocrites and sees right through fakeness.” 

“You think I’ve been fake in my attempts to reconnect with my son?” Harry asked, wearing that characteristic Potter frown that made Scorpius worry he was about to close off. 

“No no, nothing like that!” Scorpius rushed to answer, always quick to diffuse, “I just think that maybe you’ve fallen into the classic trap of trying to drop hints and explain your feelings through gestures, and, well, to be honest, I’ve been there.” Scorpius shrugged. 

Harry looked thoughtful now; he turned his gaze back to Albus who had moved on to the next display and was currently gazing at it in a way that reminded Scorpius of the time he had tried to show Albus Malfoy Manor’s art collection: like he was trying very hard to look impressed but instead was giving off the rather endearing impression that he was in entirely over his depth. Scorpius couldn’t help but grin at the memory. 

Just then, Albus glanced over at them and caught Scorpius staring at him with a rather enamoured grin on his face. Albus raised an eyebrow at him in question. Scorpius just shrugged and bit his lip, trying to stop himself from smiling and failing miserably. Albus glanced down at his feet, then once more at Scorpius -- the look in his eye enough to make Scorpius blush and look away -- then went back to pretending to like Quidditch. 

When Scorpius looked back up, it was to find Harry Potter staring at him with slightly widened eyes. His expression was enough to make Scorpius start anxiously wringing his hands, so he ended up lacing his fingers together and squeezing them to stop himself. 

“You say you have prior experience trying to explain complicated feelings to Albus through gestures and hints, Scorpius?” Harry asked, faintly, seemingly struggling with a new revelation. 

Scorpius could have hexed himself.  _ Why  _ did he always do this to himself when he could’ve just kept his mouth shut? And worst of all, Albus was going to be upset, and upset Albus was Scorpius’s least favorite Albus. “Umm, well, you see --” Scorpius began, but he was cut off by the sight of Albus walking back over to them, a fake smile on his lips and tension in his shoulders. 

“There’s a lot of good stuff here, I might have to…” Albus began, but trailed off when he took in their expressions. Scorpius watched his eyes flick rapidly between Scorpius and his father, his own expression growing to match the other two with each second that passed. 

Finally, Albus threw his head back in resignation and said, all in a rush, “Shit, Scorpius, I thought we were going to wait.” 

Scorpius gave in and started wringing his hands again. “Sorry! I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to, I mean, I was just trying to help.” Scorpius stopped himself before he could talk them into any more of a mess. 

“We were going to wait until lunch to say anything!” Albus said, looking desperate. Scorpius wanted to reach out for him, but didn’t think it would be welcome at the moment. Instead, he squeezed his hands together again, as if trying to strangle his anxiety. 

“Sorry.” Scorpius said again, looking down. When he looked back up, Albus was studying him, a cute thoughtful frown between his eyes, and he must have sensed Scorpius’s anxiety, because he took both his hands in his own and rubbed circles on the backs of them with his thumbs until Scorpius felt himself relaxing involuntarily. 

“It’s alright. We were going to get to this eventually, even if you hadn’t done it a bit early.” Albus said, still looking a bit distressed. 

“I didn’t say anything!” Scorpius rushed to clarify, “You were the one who gave us away by making flirty eyes at me across the room in a public place.” 

Albus looked amused, “Well, how am I supposed to look at you when --” he broke off, blushing, with a glance at his father, as if just then remembering Harry was there. 

Harry was looking at them with wide eyes, and as the boys finally acknowledged him, he said, “Merlin, this is real.” 

Albus was looking terrified again, and Scorpius was struck again by how very similar Albus’s appearance was to his father’s. They both had the same scared face. 

Scorpius sighed, endlessly aware -- as he always was -- that he was the most emotionally in-tune person in the room, and as such, would need to facilitate the following conversation. 

“Let’s go get lunch so we don’t have to talk about this here.” Scorpius suggested, glancing meaningfully around them at the curious Quidditch shop patrons who were staring at them as if hoping for some Potter-family drama. 

Harry finally snapped out of it, and after a quick glance around the shop he seemingly came to the same conclusion as Scorpius, because he said, “Great idea.” 

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Harry led the way to The Three Broomsticks, leaving Albus and Scorpius a bit of room to talk. They walked side by side, and after a few moments, Albus took Scorpius’s hand and laced their fingers together, an act that took Scorpius completely off guard. 

In fact, Scorpius was so surprised that he stopped walking for a moment, and Albus had to tug on his hand to make him keep moving, his classic Albus-like amused grin making Scorpius’s stomach flutter. 

After a second of heavy silence, Scorpius looked down at their joined hands then up at Albus and said, “Are you sure? There are reporters, you know.” 

Albus just smiled and said, “I’m sure. Dad was the only important one left to tell, anyway.” 

Scorpius felt his eyebrows scrunch together. “What about your Mum?” 

Albus gave him a conspiratorial glance and leaned in closer to whisper, “I’m pretty sure she already knows.” 

“How?” 

Albus shrugged. “She’s Mum. It’s like she knows everything.” 

All this talk was making Scorpius think of his own Mum again. He knew that she’d approve of Albus -- she’d always seemed so happy whenever Scorpius told her about him -- but he wished he had the opportunity to know for sure. 

“I wish we could tell my Mum about us.” Scorpius said, unable to hold Albus’s gaze. 

Albus stopped moving for a second and lifted Scorpius’s chin until he was forced to look up at him. “I’m sure that wherever she is, she already knows, too.” 

Scorpius just stared at him, wondering what on earth he’d done to deserve an Albus, and couldn’t make himself stop even when Albus started to look concerned. 

“Scorpius?” Albus asked after a moment, raising a hand to brush his fingers across Scorpius’s face. 

“Thank you.” Scorpius said, and he knew that Albus knew what he meant, even though he couldn’t explain. He didn’t think he’d ever loved Albus more than he did in that moment. 

Albus just smiled, and then they started moving again, rushing to catch up with Harry who had stopped a few paces ahead of them to give them their privacy, a considerate act for which Scorpius was very grateful. 

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Once they were seated at a table near the back of The Three Broomsticks, the boys knew that their time for stalling was over. The problem was, Scorpius couldn’t for the life of him think of how they were supposed to start this conversation. 

He knew they’d already done it once before, but with his own father it had been far simpler: Scorpius had known what to say, had known how to talk to Draco. With Albus’s dad, it was much more complicated. Quite honestly, Scorpius couldn’t seem to forget the lengths to which the man before him had gone to separate him from Albus just a year ago. He desperately did not want to mess this up. 

Albus, it appeared, was not going to be the first to speak either. If anything, he seemed even more nervous than Scorpius, which was a rare occurrence. 

“So, the two of you are together, then?” Harry asked, eventually, breaking the awkward silence. 

“Um…” Scorpius began, but he couldn’t seem to get past that single sound. 

“Yes. Yes, we are.” Albus said, taking Scorpius’s hand and squeezing. 

“How long?” Harry asked, expression neutral. 

Scorpius and Albus exchanged a glance. It was hard to determine exactly when their relationship had started changing, if it had ever been fully platonic in the first place -- Scorpius was disinclined to believe that they had ever been ordinary best friends, but had rather been too young for romantic feelings -- so Scorpius decided to go with the day they’d actually  _ talked  _ about it: the day Scorpius had gained his incredibly useful insights as to Albus’s need for direct communication. 

“Since early June.” Scorpius said. 

Harry looked stunned. Albus looked like he might throw up. Scorpius scooted to the edge of his chair so he could be closer to him, and Albus gave him a grateful look. 

“Who… who else have you told?” Harry asked, looking confused but not angry or hostile, which Scorpius supposed was reassuring. 

“Just Draco.” Albus answered, then, “But I’m pretty sure Mum knows, too.” 

If possible, Harry looked more shocked, and at first Scorpius thought it was at the idea that his wife had known and not told him, but then he said, “You told Malfoy before you told me?” 

At that, Albus’s eyes filled with a sort of angry fire that Scorpius was very familiar with, and -- having seen the consequences of Albus-fire in the past -- Scorpius was quick to try to diffuse the situation. “Yes, but --” 

Albus cut him off with, “Yeah, we told Draco first, because we knew you were going to freak out more. And you are!” 

Harry looked a bit offended. Scorpius, fearing a confrontation, glanced around to check for reporters. “I am not freaking out!” Harry said. 

There was silence for a moment. Albus just stared at Harry with his fire-eyes. Scorpius rubbed his arm in an attempt to calm him down. 

“I’m just a bit surprised, is all.” Harry said, then turned to Scorpius and asked, “Was Draco surprised, at least?” 

“Seriously?” Albus said, standing so quickly his chair scraped across the ground and stalking off toward the bathroom. 

Another silence. Then Scorpius said, “That was the exact  _ opposite  _ of what I meant by direct communication.” 

Harry, at least, looked properly ashamed of himself as Scorpius got up to follow Albus and find out if he was alright. 

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

He found Albus leaning over the sink and shaking. Scorpius found himself wondering if maybe he’d been right and Albus  _ was  _ going to vomit. 

“Albus?” he asked, cautiously. 

Albus turned at the sound of his voice, and suddenly Scorpius found himself being rather aggressively hugged, not that he minded, because he really didn’t. “Are you alright?” 

“He just… makes me so angry, Scorp. I was going to say something I’d regret.” Albus admitted, face buried in Scorpius’s shirt. 

Scorpius considered for a moment, and as he did he found himself unconsciously swaying them back and forth. Thankfully, the bathroom remained otherwise empty. “I really don’t think he means any harm. He just… honestly, I think he just deals with uncomfortable situations by making stupid jokes, and those stupid jokes always turn on your Albus-fire, and then… why are you smiling like that?” 

Albus had removed his face from Scorpius’s shirt and was now gazing at him with fond amusement. “What’s Albus-fire?” 

Scorpius blushed and tried to explain, “Well, you go all tense and get this look in your eye like you could murder someone. They go all dark and narrow and they look like green fire and, why are you laughing at me?” 

Albus shook his head, “I just… you always make me feel so much better, Scorp, you know that?” 

Scorpius did, because Albus said so often, but he honestly had no idea how he did it. “So you tell me.” 

“I just wanted this to go so well, you know?” Albus said, much calmer now. 

“I know.” Scorpius said, then kissed his forehead. “But it’s not over yet. Let’s go back out there, yeah?” 

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

When they sat back down at the table, still holding hands, Harry had a rather guilty expression on his face. Scorpius hoped he’d used his time alone to come up with something direct to say, or else he would be very disappointed. Albus didn’t need to be even more upset about this than he already was, and as Scorpius knew, he would just get exponentially more upset until things were resolved. 

Harry began, “Albus, I just wanted to say that…” he seemed to lose his nerve as he registered the fact that Albus’s expression clearly conveyed the sentiment that this was his one and only chance to get this right. 

When Harry glanced over at Scorpius, he gave an encouraging nod that he hoped said, “Remember, be direct, and also don’t mess this up!” all at once. 

Harry took a deep breath and looked back at his son. “I just wanted to say that… I love you so much, and I’m so proud of you, you know that, right?” 

Albus looked as if that was  _ not  _ what he was expecting at all. Scorpius just beamed. 

“And… you don’t have to change who you are to impress me.” Harry continued, “You don’t have to be a Gryffindor, or like Quidditch, or hide your relationship.” Harry gave Scorpius a quick smile as he said that last part. 

Albus’s eyes were so big and green, and he looked younger than Scorpius had seen him in years. “Dad, I…” 

“I love you so much, Albus.” Harry repeated, “Exactly the way you are, and I wouldn’t change a thing about you, son.” 

Albus was silent for a moment. Scorpius could see how much those words meant to him. He had a feeling that Albus had been waiting to hear them for quite a long time. 

“I love you too, Dad.” Albus said, after a moment, then stood to hug Harry across the table, who stood as well. 

Scorpius couldn’t help but feel proud of himself as he watched. He should have cornered Harry and forced him to listen to his advice two months ago. It would have saved them all a good bit of trouble. 

Once the two finally released each other, Scorpius was surprised to find himself being hugged by Albus’s father as well. “Thank you, Scorpius. I’m glad Albus has you.” 

Scorpius was incredibly touched, “Glad I could help, Mr. Potter.” 

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Later, when they were alone, Albus said, “Why do I think you had something to do with all that?” 

“All what?” Scorpius asked, feigning innocence. 

“My Dad.” Albus said, “And his sudden outright confession of his deepest feelings.” 

Scorpius looked away, “Oh, well, maybe I might’ve given some advice? On how to talk to you?” 

Albus attacked Scorpius with the biggest hug yet. “You’re a wonder, you are.” he said, sounding happier than he had in a long time. 

“No, Albus. You’re the wonder.” Scorpius said quietly. Albus just hugged him tighter. 

**Author's Note:**

> Kudos and Comments make my day! <3


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